


In his Eyes

by ScarletRedfox



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Jealous Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Post Reveal, Soft Adrienette, Theo being a little shit, confident Marinette, fake confession, heartbroken Adrien, love square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29906406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletRedfox/pseuds/ScarletRedfox
Summary: “That's because I know the eyes of someone who liked me for a long time,“ she replied with a forlorn smile, as if reminiscing in that moment.If he would be able to read her mind, he would find her thoughts belonging only to the guy whose identity he had stolen once in an effort to win her heart.After Adrien sees something he thought was true, Marinette takes it upon herself to set the record straight.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 86





	In his Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Trying to slowly get back into writing regularly after my 2 year dry spell (curse uni and writer's block), so I'll be writing short pieces for a time. You can put in requests to my FFnet account (Scarlet Redfox) or on my Tumblr (lady-charinette) if you like! :3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“I like you.”

The words spoken to her felt like a dream, like a fantasy blurred by reality.

They were not the words she dreamed of, at least not from the person she dreamed of saying them.

Marinette’s hands tightened their grip around her coffee mug. “What?”

She was sure she heard wrong, the bustling from the café was loud enough to disrupt any conversation.

But he repeated himself, louder this time. “I said I like you, Marinette,” The words left his smiling mouth, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Her lips pulled down in a frown.

It only took a second for him to read her expression, “What? You don’t believe me?” he scanned her up and down, searching for a weakness, a hint to her real thoughts.

Marinette looked outside, how people mingled and filled the streets with life. Her lips pulled up in a small half-smile, “No, I don’t, I’m sorry Theo.”

The artist sat back and observed the woman sitting across from him for a while, trying to find the error in his confession. Was it his wording? Had he dressed too casually?

“Why?” more than his obsession with one upping Adrien Agreste, Theo Barbot didn’t like getting turned down from pretty girls without a very good reason.

“That's because I know the eyes of someone who liked me for a long time,“ she replied with a forlorn smile, as if reminiscing in that moment.

If he would be able to read her mind, he would find her thoughts belonging only to the guy whose identity he had stolen once in an effort to win her heart.

No, not her heart. Her attention.

Her heart had been long since gifted to someone else.

Theo cleared his throat, willing the sudden lump to go away. “So, does that mean I don’t stand a chance?”

He knew the answer before she even opened her mouth, it was in her eyes, the way she looked at him but saw someone else in his place.

Marinette left the café that day with one purpose.

* * *

The walk back to the mansion was quiet, the weather warm and sunny, but Adrien’s mind was a storm.

All his thoughts revolved around the scene he witnessed that day on patrol, through Chat Noir’s eyes he saw Marinette sitting with Theo in that café. Him reaching across the table to hold her hand.

He had never felt the air leave his lungs quicker than it did in that moment. No akumatization or fight had left him as drained as he felt right now.

The weather was warm and sunny, but Adrien’s heart was cold.

And then, he saw a piece of string block his path.

He froze in his tracks, string digging into his midsection, eyes fixated on the pole it was wrapped around. With a spotted yoyo. An all too familiar yoyo. It was Lady-

“Ladybug?”

“Adrien.”

She looked like she’d been running, like she never ran before, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wet with unshed tears. He could feel his own eyes start to burn.

“What…what are you doing here?” he couldn’t mask the bitterness lining his words, the chill he felt in his chest coming out in his next breath, “I thought you were with Theo.” Adrien bit his lips and shuffled his feet, needles crawling up and down his arms as he uttered that name.

Ladybug walked straight towards him, stopping close enough for him to still smell her, the scent of the bakery and the croissants he loved, the smell he always associated with Marinette. How blind he’d been all those years before.

“No, I mean yes, I was, but not in the way you think!” her hand curled itself against her chest, as if words brought her physical pain. “Theo called me out of the blue, he said he wanted to talk so I went to meet him. It didn’t mean anything.”

The blond released a scoff, shuffling his feet in growing irritation. “Yeah, I saw, when I was patrolling earlier, he held your hand very emotionlessly.” Adrien Agreste had never been one to be too cynical or too bitter too often, but the time felt appropriate.

And then, Ladybug did something that screamed both Marinette and Ladybug in her.

She stood her ground fiercely and looked him in the eyes without a hint of insecurity. “Theo confessed, but I rejected him.”

Time seemed to stop. “What?” Adrien wanted to believe he heard wrong.

“I rejected Theo,” Ladybug’s gaze never wavered from his and Adrien felt his legs weakening at the sheer intensity he was leveled with. Normally, his lady would fixate that look on akumas, on Hawkmoth or on a seemingly impossible baking challenge.

Still, that stubborn twinge of bitterness in his heart wouldn’t go away. Adrien looked up at the sky, feeling like he would kiss her if he looked at those bluebell eyes any longer. “And?”

This time, it was her turn to scoff, “You stupid cat, I rejected him because I love you.”

Warmth.

Like their garden in spring, his heart felt like it was in full bloom.

_‘I rejected him because I love you.’_

It was that moment that Plagg chose to make his presence known as he flew out of his shirt in broad daylight. “Ugh, all this cheesiness is too much. Why can’t you be a dairy product instead of humans in love.”

Love.

Adrien finally shook himself free of his stupor and he looked back down at Marinette without he mask, Tikki already joining Plagg in the nearby bushes to scold him for his tactlessness.

“You…you did?”

Marinette smiled, her eyes brimming with emotions, “Yes.”

And then, she squeaked as her feet left the ground and arms encircled her waist, a pair of bright green eyes staring up into her own, mimicking the emotion she felt.

“You sure took your time m’lady.” Adrien grinned when she laughed, cradling the back of her head to nuzzle his nose against hers affectionately.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


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